westphal



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

P. WES'TPHAL. CASH DRAWER AND RECORDER.

No. 450,439. Patented Apr. 14,1891.

% SEE an Eli (No Model.)

2 Sheets-8113 1; 2.

P. WESTPHAL. CASH DRAWER AND RECORDER.

Patented Apr. 14,1891.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PAUL \VESTPIIAL, OF POTSDAM, NEAR BERLIN, GERMANY.

CASH DRAWER AND RECORDER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 450,439, dated April14, 1891.

Applicafiflll filed September 25, 1890. Serial No. 366,046. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, PAUL \VESTPHAL, a subject of the Emperor of Germany,residing at Potsdam, near Berlin, in the German Empire, have inventedcertain Improvements in Cash Drawers and Recorders, of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to an improved safety cash drawer or till for shopand other counters; and the object of my invention is to provide acash-drawer of this general character wherein means are provided forguarding against the omission of entries of goods sold, and at the sametime providing a check on the employ or salesman receiving the cash anddepositing the same in the till.

My invention will be hereinafter fully described, and its novel featurescarefully defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, illustrative of my invention, Figure 1 isa perspective view on a small scale, illustrating the general outwardappearance of my improved till. Fig. 2 is a plan view on a much largerscale, illustrating the recording mechanism for the cash received, thecasing being partly removed for the sake of clearness and economy ofspace. Fig. 3 is an end elevation of the recording mechanism seen inFig. 2 and drawn to the same scale as this latter figure; and Fig. 4: isa longitudinal vertical mid-section of the recording mechanism, theplane of the section being indicated by line at 4: in Fig. 2.

In the drawings, A B represent, as a whole, a casing, which may be ofany material and of any desired proportions, into one side A of whichslides an ordinary cash drawer or till a. As it is desirable to have noobstruction in the form of a partition between the two halves orcompartments of the casing, I prefer to provide guides g y, engaginggrooves in the cash drawer, at bottom and top, thereby leaving themiddle portion of the side wall of the cash-drawer free for theapplication and operation of the mechanisms to be hereinafter describedfor recording the sales.

In the other half B of the casing is mounted the recording mechanism,which I will now de- -scribe. A pair of rollers d and e, mounted inbearings f and geared or connected together by a cord or band g, passingover grooved sheaves at their ends, carry a strip or ribbon of paper71-, of suitable width and ruled at suitable intervals for the variousentries of sales, which strip winds upon one drum from off the other.I11 the drawings I have shown the strip h of paper as wound abouttherear drum (Z primarily and secured at its free end to the drum c in anysuitable or desirable manner. The drum c is actuated once for eachoutward pull of the cash-drawer by means of a pawl-and-ratchet device.(Seen clearly in Fig. 4.) On the axis of drum 6 at that end nearest thecash-drawer is secured a ratchetwheel 79, with the teeth of whichengages a pawl or dog m on the side walll of the drawer, which pawl isestopped against falling to a vertical position by a stud or pin 01 insaid side wall Z. It will of course be understood that each time thepawl m acts upon the ratchet-wheel 7c the drumis rotated to such anextent as to move the paper 7b the distance between two of the linesruled thereon, thereby presenting a new surface of the ribbon for thenext entry. In the crown or root of the casing B is provided an aperture0, of limited dimensions, into which is set a countersunk slotted metalplate I), and beneath the said slot 0 is mounted a spring or gravitytable '2 between which and the roof of the casing passes the ribbon orstrip 7L of paper on its way from one drum to the other, the aperture 0allowing free space for the entries of sales to be made on the ribbon bythe salesman.

In order that the salesman may not forget to make the necessary entrieson the strip 71., either willfully or innocently, and thereby occasion adifference between the amount of cash in the drawer at the end of theday and the sum of the entries on the ribbon, as often happens, Iprovide means whereby the drawer may not be opened for depositing thecash or making change before the entry of the sale has been made, andthese means I will now describe. The table t' is mounted on the upperend of a vertical shaft 1), guided in bearings at p and N, to thelowerend of which is coupled the end of a lever q, pivotally mounted at'r and provided on its free end with an adjustable sliding weight g,which serves as a counterbalance for the table i. The end of this leverq is in the form of a square toe or ear .9, and when the table iselevated to the position seen in full lines in Figs. 3 and 4c this ear 5projects out into the path of a stud or projection t on the side wall Iof the "cashdrawer,whereby the drawer may not be pulled out. This is thenormal position of the parts.

When a sale has been made and it is necessary to open the cash-drawerfor the purpose of making change or depositing the money therein, thesalesman must first with his pencil make the necessary entry of the saleon the ribbon h, the pressure of the pencil in writing being sulficientto depressthe table 71 and raise the weighted end or arm of lever q tothe position seen in dotted lines in Fig. 3, when it will be seen thatthe ear 5 is raised above and out of the path of the stud t on thedrawer. It will be seen that the drawer may now be pulled out, therebeing no other obstruction to its withdrawal.

In order to insure the stability of the table 2' in its elevated anddepressed positions until it is desired to change such positi0n,I preferto provide the said table-support p with a spring-bearing, as seen at Nin Fig. 3. This bearing comprises a casing N, fixed to the casing 13 andhollowed out to receive .two pointed spring-plungers n, which take intorecesses formed in the sides of the support 19, as seen in Fig. 3, whenthe table is in its elevated position. When the table is depressed bythe pressure of the pencil in writing, the plungers will be forced outof their recesses and will then bear against the plain sides of thesupport, holding the same, together with table 2', securely in adepressed position.

In order to return the table and its support to their normal elevatedposition, I employ means operated by the pushing in or return of thedrawer, and these means I will now describe. On the side wall Z of thecash-drawer, just behind the stop *6, is pivotally mounted a gravitylatch or finger a, which is free to move in a backward or reardirection, but is estopped against forward movement by a pin or stud 12,secured to the side wall Z of the drawer. Supposing that the salesmanhas entered a sale upon the ribbon h, and, pulling out thecash-drawerthus-freed, has deposited the cash received therein. Indrawing out the drawer the gravity-latch u rides over the ear 8 on thelever q, and, passing the same, drops in front thereof, not havingsufficient weight to overcome the resistance of the spring-bearing N;but on returning the drawer into the casing A the stud t first passesunder the ear s, which is then engaged by the gravity-latch it, whichswings forward until it is stopped by the pin 0 against further forwardmovement, when it will present a beveled or inclined face to the ear 8,pressing the latter down forcibly into the position seen in full linesin Fig. 3, when the table i will assume its elevated normal position andbe locked against further accidental movement by the spring-bearing N.

In brief, the mechanism operates as follows: If the salesman hasdeposited the cash received in the till and closed the same, the

drawer will remain shut. In order to again unlock the drawer a, thesalesman-must write the amount of the next sale 011 the strip of paperthrough the open slot in the crown of the casing. Through the pressureexerted on the table in writing the nose of the lever q is raised andthe drawer unlocked. If, however, the salesman omits to enter the amountreceived, the drawer will remain shut and cannot be opened fordepositinga second payment until the foregoing payment has been entered.In this manner the omission of entries of receipts, which so oftenoccurs in shops and gives rise to many irregularities in the cash, isentirely avoided.

.The increased protection against the dishonesty of the salesmanconsists in the fact that if he has been dishonest he cannot make use ofthe customary excuse of forgetfulness, as the fact of the drawerremaining shut will at once call attention to the missing entry and alsothat the use of my improved cashdrawer makes it more difficult for himto conceal his dishonesty. If, for instance, the salesman were simply topocket the amount received and not open the drawer at all, this wouldvery soon be discovered by the other salesmen or the proprietor of theshop; butif he were to draw the drawer out as a blind he would have tomake a false entry on the strip, and, the cash not agreeing with theregister, the falsification would soon be discovered.

In order to prevent a salesman leaving the drawer or till open, a smallstop may be so an plied to the same that a bell or gong will be soundedeach time the drawer is opened. If the bell does not ring, it willsignify at once that the drawer was not closed after the insertion ofthe previous payment. If, however, the assistant were to depress thetable with a pencil or the like Without making any entry, the space onthe paper would be moved from under the slot and remain blank, so thatin both cases the proprietor or manager of the store would have hisattention directed to the fact that an irregularity had occurred. Theonly possibility now remaining would be for the salesman to retain apart of the receipts and enter the balance on the paper and put thecurtailed amount into the till; but this would also be readily detectedin the event of the purchaser bringing back the goods purchased toexchange same or the like, as the entry would have to be referred to andthe falsification would accordingly be made evident. In order toascertain which of the salesmen is guilty, each salesman should beprovided with a pencil of a different color. The strips for the variousdays may have characteristic features-as, for instance, they may bedated, or bear different. numbers, or

be of diiferent proportions.

Myimproved safety cash-drawer is of great importance, and is moreespecially adapted for shops where no special cashier is employed, thecash being received by salesmen,-

although will be evident that the same can be used to great advantageeven in the largest and most extensive business, as it would prove agreat saving of time if each salesman had his own till. It will also beevident that the construction of the parts may be modified in variousways without departing materially from the principles of my invention.

If desired, the drawer may be made to close automatically by applyingsuitable springs.

Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. In an apparatus forchecking the receipt of moneys, the combination, with the slottedcasing, of the cash-drawer normally locked therein, the paper stripwithin said casing arranged to move in a path beneath the slot in thecasing, means operated by the opening of said cash-drawer for feedingsaid strip along at each operation of said drawer, the depressible tablearranged within the casing beneath the slot therein, over which tablethe strip passes, whereby the pressure of the pencil in writingdepresses said table, and means, substantially as described, forcommunicating the movement of said table to the locking mechanism of thedrawer, whereby said drawer is released and may be withdrawn after theentry of each receipt.

2. In an apparatus for checking the receipt of moneys, the combination,with the slotted casing, of the cash-drawer arranged to slide therein,the paper strip Within said casing arranged to move in a path beneaththe slot therein, means for feeding said strip along at each operationof the cash-drawer, the depressible table over which the paper strippasses, arranged beneath said slot in the easing, and the lever-supportfor said table, pro vided at its free end with ears arranged in the pathof a projection on the cash-drawer, whereby when said table is depressedby the pencil in writing said ears are withdrawn from the path of theprojection and the drawer released, as and for the purposes set forth.

3. In an apparatus for checking the receipt of money, the combination,with the slotted casing, of the cash-drawer arranged to slide therein,the paper strip mounted on rollers and arranged to move in a pathbeneath said slot, the feed mechanism for communicating longitudinalmovement to said strip each time the drawer is operated, the table 1supported on one of the arms of the lever q and arranged beneath theslot in the casing, the free end of said lever g arranged in the path ofa projection on the drawer, the gravity latch or finger to, and its stopr, all arranged to operate as and for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of twosubscribing witnesses.

PAUL WESTPI-IAL.

Witnesses:

FRED J. DOWNING, H. DUKES.

